The Daren Sammy Cricket Ground played host to a thrilling day of youth competitive athletics on Wednesday, April 1, where underdog District Six pulled off a dramatic upset to claim the top prize at the 2026 Inter-District Primary School Athletics Championships, ending the multi-event winning streak of defending champion District Eight. What began as a gray, damp morning with steady rainfall shifted to bright, sunny conditions ideal for elite track-and-field competition, drawing hundreds of screaming spectators—including teachers, family members, and fellow students from across the region—to the venue for the penultimate major school sporting event of the academic term.
The day’s opening events saw an early surge from District Five, representing the communities of Dennery and Micoud. Young runner Shandre Fontenelle delivered an immediate boost to his team’s standings, taking gold in the Under-13 boys’ 1200-meter race and silver in the Under-13 boys’ 600-meter. Those strong results pushed District Five into the early lead with 135 points, outpacing both District Six and the defending titleholders District Eight, who represents the Soufrière and Canaries regions. Despite standout individual performances across multiple disciplines from District Eight’s athletes, the tide of competition shifted dramatically once the sprint events got underway. By the conclusion of all sprint competitions, District Six had carved out a solid 17-point advantage over the rest of the field.
That lead only grew through the final relay races, where District Six extended their gap to a commanding 41 points by the end of all competitions. When the final scores were tallied, District Six secured the overall championship title with 311 total points, beating out District Eight who finished as runners-up with 270 points. In the girls’ team rankings, District Six also claimed top honors with 180 points, ahead of District Eight’s 149. District Five held on to claim third place overall with 224 total points, with their boys’ team putting up a particularly strong fight to finish first in the boys’ rankings with 138 points, just edging out District Six’s 131 points. Rounding out the top five overall teams were District Two (representing North Castries) with 212 points, and District One (covering Gros Islet and Babonneau) with 173 points. The full final standings saw District Seven in sixth place with 126 points, District Three in seventh with 114 points, and District Four in eighth with 107 points.
While District Six claimed the overall team crown, individual honors were spread across multiple districts, with District Eight earning three of the eight available individual event trophies. Shervel Gonzales turned in a dominant performance for District Eight, winning the Under-9 girls’ 60-meter sprint in 9.70 seconds and the 150-meter sprint in 23.52 seconds. Teammate Keyanni Gilbert claimed two titles as well, taking gold in the ball throw and the Under-11 girls’ 600-meter in a time of 2:07.03. District Eight’s third individual trophy went to Kayla Gills, who won both the Under-13 girls’ 80-meter (11.02 seconds) and 150-meter (20.10 seconds). In the over-13 girls’ division, Namika Bellas of District Two claimed top individual honors with an undefeated run of performances.
On the boys’ side, multiple young athletes turned in breakout performances across age groups. Clevon McLawrence of District Three stood out in the Under-9 division, clocking 9.23 seconds to take gold in the 60-meter sprint and earn silver in the 150-meter. Avary Maryat of District One repeated as a double champion in the Under-11 division, defending his titles with winning runs in the 150-meter (20.63 seconds) and 300-meter (46.74 seconds). Individual honors in the two oldest boys’ divisions were split evenly across competing teams. Fontenelle, whose early performance pushed District Five into the lead, was one of three individual award winners in the Under-13 boys’ division. Vijay Blanchard earned District Six’s sole individual boys’ award, taking gold in the 80-meter and silver in the 150-meter, while District One’s Asa Emmanuel flipped that result to claim gold in the 150-meter and silver in the 80-meter. In the top division, Jeanquan JnPierre of District Three and Javan William of District Two each earned one gold and one silver medal to split top honors.